Evice (Japanese: ワルダックWardack) is the criminal mastermind behind Cipher's activities in Orre. He is the only character in the games to have the Trainer classCipher Head (Japanese: シャドーのボスShadow Boss).

He disguises himself as the mayor of Phenac City under the name of Es Cade (Japanese: バックレーBackley). In his disguise, he is a fat and jolly gentleman who appears to be worried about the increase in crime caused by Cipher and Team Snagem, yet as the head of Cipher, he appears to have done nothing to stop either of them, ensuring that Snagem and Cipher work without interference.

Contents

In the games

Mayor Es Cade in his office at Phenac City

Es Cade first appears near the beginning of the game, when the player and Rui seek out his aid following Rui's rescue from Folly and Trudly. Before meeting with him, the duo encounter Nascour leaving his home, though the significance of this is not apparent at the time. He appears horrified by the kidnapping and Rui's claim of seeing a mysterious Pokémon with a black aura, and promises to investigate. In the meantime, Es Cade suggests that the player and Rui visit Phenac Stadium.

After fighting off an ambush from Team Snagem near the stadium, the player and Rui return to Es Cade's home, but he is absent and Miror B., Folly, Trudly, Bluno, Rosso and Verde are in the office instead. Miror B. leaves and dispatches Bluno, Rosso and Verde to guard Phenac City's exits while Folly and Trudly fight the player in Es Cade's office. Once the Cipher members are driven off, Es Cade returns to his office and promises to continue his investigation, telling the player and Rui to return if they need his aid. However, as the player and Rui's campaign against Cipher escalates, Es Cade disappears; a Phenac City resident near his house reveals that she saw him leave in a terrifying rage.

He is not seen again until the story's climax at Realgam Tower, after the player defeats Nascour in a battle. He arrives to stop Nascour from humiliating himself by continuing to fight the player, still in his disguise as Es Cade. When Rui expresses her confusion at his presence, he explains that he actually is Evice, the real leader of Cipher, and reveals his true, grotesque appearance. While considering the assets lost by Cipher as part of their Shadow Pokémon plan to be replaceable, he refuses to forgive the player and Rui, and engages the player in a battle with the intent to crush the player permanently. Upon defeat, he attempts to escape via a helicopter to continue his plans, but a Ho-Oh appears and destroys the helicopter with Sacred Fire, leaving Evice and Nascour to be arrested by Sherles.

While Evice does not appear in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, he is mentioned by various NPCs. A woman in the Pokémon HQ Lab states that he is still safely behind bars, and Chief Sherles states that he was not the true leader of Cipher after all. By the time the events of this game take place, he has been replaced in the role of Phenac City Mayor by Trest.

Quotes

"My, my. That certainly was a battle worth seeing. I must be honest with you. I never imaged that you would get this far."

"Oh, dear me. Do you fail to understand still? You're such an innocent child. At times, I am the affable mayor of Phenac... And at others, I am the secret boss of the criminal syndicate Cipher... I am Evice, and I shall rule the world!"

Before battle

"How dare you meddle in our affairs so thoroughly! The Shadow Pokémon plan, we can resurrect from the start. But you two... you'll never be forgiven! I'll destroy you utterly so you may never again rise against me!"

Before battle, if the player was previously defeated

"Ah, it's good to see you. Indeed it is. I've been worried about you. I was worried that you'd run off out of fear of me! Hohoho! Now, are you prepared to be devastated once again?"

"Hahah! I'll happily humiliate you as often as you're willing!"

Being defeated

"Noooooooh! Even my ultimate Pokémon!"

After being defeated

"Blast you! Don't forget what you've done, <player>! It won't end this way next time! I will ruin you the next time, I promise you that!"

"Waahahah! Let us meet again! Our bid to take over the world using Shadow Pokémon hasn't ended yet!"

"What?"

Trivia

Evice's name appears to be a combination of "evil" and "vice." "Vice", in addition to implying wrongdoing, may also imply the possibility that Evice isn't the true leader of Cipher. This is confirmed by Sherles in Pokémon XD, where he mentions that Evice wasn't the absolute leader to begin with. Instead, the position of Cipher's leader is held by Greevil, a character who hadn't appeared in Colosseum.

It is unclear if this was always intended to be the case or was a retcon in XD. A resident of The Under references a man who made a fortune in the mines of the city that he hopes used his money for good; the line appeared to be referring to Evice originally but could also have been referring to Greevil all along.

Evice's grandfather founded Phenac City by drawing water to the previously parched land and later became its first mayor.